1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a display apparatus for a racetrack or for a betting parlor associated with a racetrack or Totalizator company, including a display of a large amount of racing and parimutuel data, particularly periodic parimutuel or odds data and the history thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, it is well known to display racing and parimutuel data at a racetrack, betting parlor or similar location to enable, indeed encourage, the racing enthusiast to place bets on the racing results.
In its pure form, parimutuel betting allows those holding winning tickets to divide the total amount bet, less a house percentage, in proportion to their wagers. This guarantees a specific return to the racetrack, but also results in fluctuating odds (or "totalizator dividends" in Australian parlance) for a given bet as the start of the race approaches and the proportion of the amount placed on a given bet as a percentage of the total amount bet (i.e., all bets) changes. This can be disconcerting to some bettors (or "punters" in Australian parlance) as a bettor (or "punter") can place a bet at given odds only to see these odds be reduced as the race approaches. This can result in bettors ("punters") delaying placing a bet until immediately before the race in order to gain at least some certainty as to the potential payback of the bet. This can result in lost opportunities to place a bet if many bettors ("punters") wait until the last minute and try to rush to the betting window immediately prior to the race. This can result in fewer bets and a lower total amount wagered from which the racing facility receives a percentage. This can also result in a greater instability in the odds finally offered in a parimutuel system.
Moreover, the more information given to a bettor ("punter"), the more likely the bettor is to place a bet or to devise a systematic method for predicting the winner of a race using the new information (i.e., "work out a system") and confidently place even more bets. Under a parimutuel system, whether or not such a method results in a long-term advantage to an individual bettor ("punter"), within limits, is usually inconsequential to the racing facility as it receives a given percentage of the total amount bet. More simply, the more excited the bettors become about betting, the more money the racing facility makes, and any apparatus or method for exciting the bettors is usually profitable for the racing facility.